Surprise raid at Collectorate; three Public Works Department officials caught red-handed while taking bribes

PALAKKAD: In a surprise inspection conducted by the Vigilance Department at the Palakkad Collectorate, three officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) were caught red-handed while accepting bribes. Those arrested are Divisional Accounts Officer Salaludeen J, Junior Superintendent C. Ramani, and Quality Control Officer Sasidharan. The Vigilance team also recovered bribe money of Rs 2,000 each from all three officials.

The surprise raid was carried out under the leadership of Palakkad Vigilance DySP S. Shamsudheen. A contractor from Palakkad had approached the Vigilance, alleging that the officials had demanded bribes. The contractor, acting on directions from Vigilance, handed over the marked money, leading to the arrest of the accused at the moment of the transaction.

The officials allegedly demanded the bribe for processing a bill. Vigilance also conducted searches at the residences of the arrested officials. It has been reported that Vigilance had received many complaints against all three for accepting bribes in the past.